A few highlights include bluegrass musicians Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, composer and sitar player Anoushka Shankar, jazz band Medeski Martin & Wood, and DJ Kid Koala, who will bring 50 turntables for interactive audience performances.

Big Ears 2018 will run from Thursday, March 22 through Sunday, March 25. The annual avant-garde festival announced its 2018 lineup of more than 100 performances by more than 60 artists Wednesday morning.

Performances will take place in several downtown Knoxville venues including the Tennessee Theatre, Bijou Theatre, The Mill & Mine, The Standard, The Square Room, Church Street United Methodist Church, St. John's Episcopal Cathedral, Knoxville Museum of Art and Boyd's Jig & Reel, according to the Big Ears website.

"My hope is simply that people will just dive in and explore what could be a really, really fascinating experience," said Big Ears founder and artistic director Ashley Capps.

"The most important thing about Big Ears, and I think it's true of many festivals, is the surprises are often the highlights of the weekend and I'm certainly most thrilled when I hear from people who are completely mesmerized and blown away by something that they didn't even know existed before they came to the festival, so I think it's that not only going for what you know but also the element of the unexpected and the surprises that make the festival experience really something special."

Tickets for the festival will go on sale at 10 a.m. EST Friday, Nov. 3, according to the festival's website.

New Appalachian Homecoming

While Appalachian music has always been present at Big Ears, the 2018 festival will feature an event dedicated to it. Anna Roberts-Gevalt attended Big Ears several years as a fan, met Capps and developed an interest and knowledge of Appalachian music. She will curate the homecoming.

Capps said he's always asked about why Big Ears is held in Knoxville, and the Appalachian Homecoming event is another way to answer that question.

"So when people come and experience the historic character of the downtown and the quality of venues, the restaurants, the shops, the walkability of the city, that answers a lot of the questions of, 'Why Knoxville?' But I found myself wanting to really delve into it further because visitors from outside this region, and that's most of the people attending the festival, are fascinated by the indigenous culture of the region," he said.

The homecoming will feature Appalachian music from Cleek Schrey, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, The Black Twig Pickers, The Jerry Douglas Band, Sam Amidon and others.

It will also have square dances, a fiddler’s convention, picking sessions and a food component.

Big Ears holds a Sunday brunch each year, but the food activities will increase at the 2018 festival because of the homecoming.

"This year especially as we explore this regional Appalachian component, we're looking to take those experiences up a notch or two or three, and that's still in the planning process, so the details will be announced soon. We're anticipating some guest chefs, some special meals and some great treats, some really tasty treats during the weekend," said Capps.

'Jazz ... kind of exploded this year'

Jazz acts will make up a significant part of Big Ears 2018. The lineup has legendary jazz drummer Melford Graves, pianist Jason Moran, a collaboration from the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra and Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and more.

"Jazz in general ... kind of exploded this year," said Capps. "And that wasn't so much by design as it is just a natural evolution. Some have expressed a little bit of surprise that there's been so much jazz, but those who know me know I've been an avid jazz fan for decades. I used to host the jazz program for 30 years on WUOT, so I think I'm a little surprised that it's taken me this long to let jazz come to the forefront the way it has."

In addition to the beefy jazz lineup, Capps said a strong spiritual thread will run through the festival this year. One performance includes the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra playing the African spiritual “Were You There” with baritone Davoné Tines.